Faults:

Some interior rattles - I took my car back to the dealer twice to fix the rattle problem. However, the rattles came back soon after the service.

The brake was very hard when the car was new. It is getting better now.

General Comments:

Astra offers superb handling.

The 5-door hatchback has fairly large boot space.

It is good value for money.

Faults:

Both headlights changed once because of condensation.

Fog lights replaced 5 times because of poor fogging up on the inside glass.

Rear dampers needed to be done.

Crank angle sensor replaced.

ECU needed to be updated because of a disagreement with the ECU and the immobiliser.

All this was covered under warranty thank goodness, but the service departments leaves a lot to be desired.

Brake dust still bakes on hard to the alloys.

When the headlights and fogs were replaced, no bulb in the fog lights, Also missing rubber surrounds from the headlights. 2 people checked and both passed it to be done.

Also very surprised Hella who makes the headlights bring out something so poor.

General Comments:

Possiblity of oil given to them not being used in the 30k service. Engine doesn't rev as nicely as it once did. Maybe that was because I switched to the Shell Helix Ultra from Mobil 1. Will go back to Mobil 1 again.

Do a change yourself half way through the service interval. 15,000km on any oil isn't good.

Faults:

There is an annoying creak or rattle that seems to emanate from the front passenger seatbelt housing.

Another annoying vibration seems to come from the lower dash near where the passenger's right leg would rest.

Both faults were reported to the dealer within 1 week of getting the car. I was told that they "don't do warranty work on weekends" and that noise etc is not covered under warranty anyway, that is, I'd have to pay to have these irritants fixed.

General Comments:

Having got my complaints off my chest, the Astra is a surprisingly zippy little car and obviously much more economical than my old Statesman.

Outside noise suppression is very good and I was pleasantly surprised by the decent factory sound system.

The seats, while lacking lumbar support, are firm, but comfortable. Driver's seat height adjustment is good, as is the telescopic steering column.

I begrudge paying any money to the dealer to fix up the interior noise. If anyone else has had interior noise problems, I would love to hear from you with any happy endings.

Faults:

The engine stalls and takes time to restart.

The dash and front doors are rattling, and is very annoying.

Revs stay up when changing gears.

General Comments:

The car is okay compared to its competitors.

My previous car out performs it easily apart from that it is a comftorble small car, as long as you take your time when making gear changes.